Ghost Stories of Cedar Key Florida

The ghost of a headless pirate riding a palomino is said to haunt this area at night. He is said to be Pierre LeBlanc, was pirate who was working for the notorious Jean LaFitte. LaFitte left LeBlanc with a palomino and some supplies and charged him with guarding his treasure hidden on Seahorse Key. A stranger came along and eventually built enough trust in LeBlanc that LeBlanc showed the stranger LaFitte’s hidden treasure. When LeBlanc had too much to drink and passed out, the stranger helped himself to the booty. When LeBlanc came to, he attacked the stranger, but lost the fight — and his head!

This shell mound, created by local Native Americans over about 1,000 years, is now part of the Lower Suwannee National Wildlife Refuge. There is a nature trail surrounding the mound called “Shell Mound Trail.”

Locals believe the area around the shell mound is haunted by the ghost of Annie Simpson and her dog. The story goes that pirates from long ago buried treasure here, and when poor Annie and her wolfhound dog stumbled across the location one day, the pirates killed both in order to keep the location a secret. Some see Annie as just a floating white light, others see a white dress floating around (with no arms or legs), and the same white light as her head. At least one witness claims to have seen her as a full-bodied apparition.

In 1923, white woman Fannie Taylor lied and said she had been assaulted by an African-American man. She lied because she didn’t want her husband to know she was actually beaten by her white lover. But Fannie’s maid Sarah Carrier witnessed the incident and knew the truth. As a result of Fannie’s lie, white men came from nearby towns began hunting down and killing the African-American residents of Rosewood, including Sarah. When Rosewood citizens defended themselves, the whites hunted them down and burned almost every one of their buildings. One structure still stands: the home of white merchant John Wright, a hero who hid many of the Rosewood residents and helped them to get safely out of town. The woods around the house are said to be extremely haunted. The apparition of an African-American man has been seen, dropping into his knees and pleading for mercy before he vanished. Gunshots and screams are also heard throughout the woods.

If you’ve had a paranormal experience here, or have any additional information about these locations, please let us know!